I received the flashlight linked in the first post, and it did not exactly impress.
First crack out of the envelope showed that, although the shape is more stylish than the original MXDL twisty and it will tailstand, the glossy finish makes any machining imperfections more evident. The original MXDL has a more refined matte finish.
The designs look so similar that I was sure the heads were interchangable - to my surprise, they were not. Makes me scratch my head since I was thinking they must come from the same factory, or the basic design was copied exactly.
Mine was missing the rubber o-ring, so the twisty function is rather loose and feels more gritty. Might try to scrounge one somewhere.
Finally, although the generic led looks identical to my other MXDLs, the light output is not as great - perhaps 2/3rds by my offhand perception from a ceiling bounce.
Oh, well - a $1.88 bust, I'll get over it. Some kid will be happy.
I have that light, too, and concur with those observations.
On mine the head is plastic and a bit wobbly, and I would say it's worth the already bottom dolar if it were metal.
Those kaidomain cheapies above do look interesting, though. If the house is good, it's worth it. Remember fenix or whatever pricy brand with the 5mm leds sell for $10-20.
Hi boomhauer, sorry to hear about the $1.88 loss! Does it have any brand markings on it perchance? I've seen that model marked as Lanshi LS-007 and also Pallide something-or-other.
The head on mine is aluminum, I'm pretty sure, but it is very thin.
If it had come with the o-ring, I'd probably be just OK with it. The best part of this buck and change expense was the anticipation of opening the familiar brown envelope in the mailbox.
edit: the clickies on Kai (same as the ones from autoshop88 on ebay) are definitely worth the couple bucks spent.
Later, I did manage to dump the "pill" casing and reflector out of the head - both pieces made of plastic, of course. Was a little surprised they fell out so easily. Seems they are just press-fit into the head, with the threads providing minor securement.
I received two of the nameless clickies with a clip . I bought them mainly to plunder their clips and the clips are the best thing on these lights. The led is much smaller than advertised in the pictures and I think even the DX keychain is brighter. I will do a comparison later.
Also the Richuang RC-7001 arrived and that one is actually quiet nice for the price paid. The Emitter is as big as the nameless ones should have been.
Hmm , I'm tempted to buy the 7002 also ... must ... resist...
Having them on DX is nice, if only for consolidating purchases and giving the mailman a break wearing a path to the front door with a multitude of small envelopes. Since I need some other stuff on DX, I'll probably order one of those Richuangs while I'm at it. Still waiting for those keychain clickies from focalprice. DX's beamshot of the Richuang looks more impressive, btw.
$0.89 : Meritline has this one http://www.meritline.com/037-18-aluminum-compact-led-flashlight---p-40688.aspx?source=s2010 with coupon code MLCK248656082459AL1
Meritline is very trustworthy. I have bought hundreds of items from them. No problems whatsoever. They always have these little sales with coupon codes that make certain items cheap. It's a company based in Hong Kong, but they also have warehouses in the USA.
Thanks for the heads up but the coupon is for newsletter subscribers only and I don't want junk mails in my main email account. I'd rather pay 70 cent more. But the shop looks interesting and haven't heard of them before.
And according to the discussion on CPF, several users liked the MXDL clicky and twisty from eBay seller autoshop8810. This seller has once again started offering these products with the "Buy it Now" option, which I prefer. Here are the links:
Does it have any brand markings on it perchance? I've seen that model marked as Lanshi LS-007 and also Pallide something-or-other.